Category: Cars

Two Things: Venom / Dogma

We’re deep into the Christmas shopping season and some of you have been asking for gift hints. This post is for you. And by “you,” I mean, of course, Warren Buffet or The Sultan of Brunei. Hennessey Venom GT Forget 0-60. That’s soooo 1960s. Forget 0-100. That’s for wannabes. The new gold standard for vehicular… Continue reading Two Things: Venom / Dogma

Lo Beem

My friend LouAnn took her BMW coupe to the car wash today, and after paying and waiting in line for an hour (car washes in Midland are really busy, since hand washing at home is now illegal), she was told that her car’s ground clearance was too low to go through.  Being the good guy… Continue reading Lo Beem

Sliding Into Place

This is for anyone who’s ever struggled to parallel park, as if we needed yet another reason to feel inadequate. This attempt set the world record for tightest parallel parking (is there anything for which a world record can’t be established?), said record measured by the clearance between vehicles. This attempt was 26cm. However, according… Continue reading Sliding Into Place

Truck Ad Promises to Adhere to Natural Laws

I realize that picking apart the logic of any television ad is like taking candy from a fish in a barrel, but GMC’s recent “I Vow” series touting its Sierra pickup line seems to push the envelope for damning with faint praise. Here’s my cogent analysis of what the commercial says vs. what it really… Continue reading Truck Ad Promises to Adhere to Natural Laws

Brain Wracking Rack

One of the challenges of owning a bicycle with a wheelbase of more than 9′ is transporting it. Conventional bike racks just don’t work. In the past, we’ve used a Thule roof rack system along with a Thule tandem carrier that I extended with a length of square tubing and a second welded-on “foot” for… Continue reading Brain Wracking Rack

Hey, does that thang have a first stage booster rocket?

I don’t know what possessed someone to do an in-depth comparison of the new Ram 3500 Heavy Duty pickup with a Delta IV Heavy rocket…but I like it! The truck actually compares very favorably with the rocket when it comes to payload, defined for the pickup as towing capacity (25,400 pounds) and for the rocket… Continue reading Hey, does that thang have a first stage booster rocket?

Too smart for my own good

When we bought our new truck in July (has it been that long ago?) I didn’t get an extended warranty, but I did spring for a prepaid “oil changes for life” plan. And I’m beginning to realize one of the downsides of failing to keep up with automotive technology. When I did the mental calculation… Continue reading Too smart for my own good

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Categorized as Cars

To All the Cars I’ve Known

Our recent purchase of a new vehicle represented a rare event in our lives. In our almost-40 years of marriage, we’ve owned relatively few cars. We tend to keep cars for a long time (if not for high mileage; our commutes have generally been short to non-existent). Anyway, I made a deal to sell the… Continue reading To All the Cars I’ve Known

Published
Categorized as Cars

Zits and Me

I’m referring not to facial blemishes but to the comic strip, which is one of my favorites due to its  ability to unerringly portray the foibles and habits of teenagers. And, apparently, me. See, we’ve got this new car – a Honda Ridgeline, if you must know. It’s loaded with toys – navigation package, XM… Continue reading Zits and Me